Visit Hauts-de-France with P&O Ferries

What's better than travelling abroad with someone you cherish? Not that many things, we agree. Why not plan a trip to Northern France, an oft-forgotten destination which has so much to offer: dazzling monuments, incredible food, and breathtaking landscapes...

Plan your trip to Hauts-de-France (External link)

Thanks to P&O Ferries (External link) , the oft-overlooked shores of Hauts-de-France are just a 90-minute ferry ride from Dover. With up to 23 sailings a day, unbeatable on-board services, and friendly staff to help out every step of the way, it’s never been easier to get a ferry to France with their Dover to Calais crossing. Then take to the open road – and feel a world away.

If you’re keen on architecture, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Amiens is a sight to behold in all its Gothic splendour. Take a guided tour and soak up the history of this hallowed place, then take a rowing boat out in the hortillonnages (floating gardens) for a romantic pause. In Lille, it’s all about cobblestones and crispy waffles, and long, lazy lunches at a local estaminet (licensed café) as you plan your next move.

Then it could be to Chantilly to indulge in château culture the Northern French way, make four-legged friends at the stables and eat strawberries slathered in the eponymous cream at Restaurant Le Hameau, hidden away in the unexpected Anglo-Chinese gardens.

Of course, you can never escape Hauts-de-France’s wartime ties with the UK, and a visit to the Thiepval Memorial will leave you speechless at the sheer number of missing British and South African soldiers from the Battles of the Somme. Dry your eyes before going birdwatching at Parc du Marquenterre, a reserve of dunes, forest and marshland with hides for spotting migratory waders, and nature trails to follow all year round.

Listed as one of France’s most beautiful villages, Gerberoy is a medieval hideaway with roses and rampart walks, and gorgeous gardens like the Jardin des Ifs, a symphony of symmetrical French style with its perfectly clipped and unusually shaped boxwoods and yews. For a bite to eat, stop at l’Atelier Gourmand de Sarah, where a warm welcome accompanies sumptuous homemade pies and pastries, all made using local produce.

After all that, there’ll still be time to raise a glass at dramatic Cap Blanc Nez on the Opal Coast, whose craggy white cliffs bear a striking resemblance to Dover’s just 26 miles away.